


Face My Fears

by nanaprincess91



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-18 22:46:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20320762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanaprincess91/pseuds/nanaprincess91
Summary: Set after KH III. After being rescued by Riku and Kairi, Sora is back in the land of the living. However, Riku still remembers Sora's breakdown at the keyblade graveyard during their first failed battle and decides to confront his friend about the things he said.





	Face My Fears

**Author's Note:**

> I don't believe Riku would just forget what Sora said about being worthless without his friends. I think as soon as he got the chance, Riku would try to find the root of those emotions and help his friends. I think good friends who can call you out on your lies and support you during the tough times are some of the most amazing people in the world so I wanted to show the strong bond between both boys and how they can rely on each other no matter what. I hope you all like it <3

He was here. Riku had to remind himself of that. 

He stood on Sora’s right side, stealing occasional glances at the brunet. On Sora’s left, Kairi did the same. Their eyes met once and Kairi gave Riku a relieved smile. 

“Riku, Kairi, I am happy to see you have succeeded your quest.” Master Yen Sid’s voice cut through the silence of the room.

Riku and Kairi both bowed though Riku thought it was an empty gesture; after all, it wasn’t Yen Sid who had asked them to go looking for Sora. Riku and Kairi had promised the night Sora had disappeared that they would find their friend, no matter the time or cost. They would have no peace of mind until they had.

Riku straightened up just as Yen Sid turned to the newly-returned keyblade wielder.

“Sora, your absence was felt by many.”

Sora deflated, shoulders hunching ever so slightly. He averted his gaze, voice quiet.

“I’m sorry, Master Yen Sid.”

An image flashed in Riku’s mind. Sora, sobbing on his knees, defeated. Despair and shame. Riku managed to keep a stoic look on his face, but dug his nails into his palms. 

The venerable keyblade master did not smile, but his gaze softened. “It is good to have you back.”

Sora’s shoulders pushed back again, giving one of his trademark grins, as if that moment of weakness had not existed.

But Riku knew it did. He had seen it. 

“You three have had a long journey,” Yen Sid said, motioning to the door which opened on its own. “Your rooms are prepared. You may stay as long as you wish, although I’m sure your families miss you dearly as well.”

“Right,” Sora said, turning and flashing his friends a grin. “I call shower first!” He ran ahead.

“Hey!” Kairi called after him. “But we each have our-” She cut herself off, shaking her head. Sora was already long gone.

Kairi and Riku bowed at the master of the world once more before closing the door.

“He’s always so spirited, isn’t he?” Kairi said with a giggle as Sora’s footsteps ahead echoed along the spiral staircase. “It’s like nothing gets to him.”

“Yeah,” Riku said quietly, but his heart wasn’t in his answer.  _ But is that true? _

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few minutes later, Riku finished toweling off his hair and headed downstairs. On his way down the tower, he spotted Kairi closing the door to Yen Sid’s office, mouthing something like “Report Time” before the wooden door closed. Well, if there was ever a time to talk to Sora, it’d be now.

He went down one more level and found the usually-closed door of the makeshift living room open. Sora was hanging off the couch, upside down, scrolling through his gummi phone, oblivious to the world around him.

“You look comfortable,” Riku said with a chuckle.

Sora let out a surprised yelp, legs flailing as he slid sideways, landing in a heap at the base of the couch. He looked up at Riku and stuck his tongue out before pushing himself into a seated position.

“Don’t sneak up on me, Riku!”

“Pay attention then, dumbass,” Riku said, smiling.

Sora just laughed, but Riku immediately regretted saying the words. 

_ “...Alone, I’m worthless.”  _

“Riku?”

Riku looked up to find Sora looking at him, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

“What’s wrong?”

Riku didn’t respond. He would rather discuss this somewhere their friends were less likely to barge in on them, somewhere more secluded. Riku motioned to the door with his head before turning and starting to walk. He heard Sora following him out the living room, down the spiral staircase, until they reached the large wooden doors.

Riku pushed them open and sat on the semi-circular steps.

“Close the door, will you?” Riku asked.

Sora did as he was asked, a confused look on his face, before sitting down as well.

“So…” Sora said, leaning back to look up at the starry sky. “What’s up?”

But Riku found that suddenly, it was much harder to talk. Sora was back from the  _ dead _ , something which he had no doubt was a terrifying experience to go through (twice if they counted the happenings at the graveyard- which Riku definitely did). And now, he wanted to talk about his friend’s absolute breakdown that had happened before they were murdered? It didn’t seem right.

The silence wore on. 

“It’s weird being in regular clothes again.”

Riku turned at the sound of Sora’s voice. His friend was tugging at the front of a sleeveless white shirt with a large red pocket. It was true: with the simple grey pants, sleeveless white shirt, and sneakers replacing the three fairies' magical outfits, Sora looked like any average young man back on the mainland. 

Riku was relieved to find his voice again. “They probably want to make sure everything that happened didn’t wear down the magic.”

“Right,” Sora said with a nod. 

Riku took another deep breath. As always, Sora had managed to break the ice. “We need to talk.” 

“Didn’t Selphie always say that was a dangerous phrase?” Sora said, chuckling.

Riku frowned, kicking forward a pebble near the steps. “Yeah…” He looked at Sora. “We need to talk about the keyblade graveyard.”

The change in Sora’s posture was immediate. His shoulders became stiff, his fingers twitched tighter around his shirt, and his face fell for a split second before he plastered on a smile, one that this time looked a little too tight for his face. 

“What for? We won the fight, Riku.”

Riku shook his head. “Not the first time.”

Sora flinched.

“You know what I’m talking about,” Riku said.

Sora’s frowned. “Look, I’m back. I’m good. Let’s just go on with our liv-Woah!” 

Sora had started pushing himself up to go back inside, but Riku had grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back before he could stand.

“No,” Riku said.

Sora scowled; it didn’t look right on his face. “Let go.”

“No. We have to talk about what you said.”

“Why?” Sora’s voice rose and shook, though if it was with anger or nervousness, Riku wasn’t sure. Maybe it was both.

“You know why.”

“I’m fine. See? Smiling and everything. I don’t know why I said those things.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Sora hissed, “Riku-”

“We’ve been friends since we were two. I know you…. And I’m worried about you,” Riku said quietly but earnestly. 

He looked at Sora who still had an angry look on his face, his fist shaking at his side. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe Sora wasn’t ready to confront those things- even if all of Riku’s instincts told him otherwise. 

“I know what doubt feels like, Sora.”

Sora closed his eyes and looked away.

“But if this really isn’t a big deal, if you really are fine, then go.” He let go of Sora’s shirt and motioned to the door behind them. 

For a second, Riku thought Sora would stand up and leave, but Sora remained sitting, avoiding Riku’s gaze.

“I’m such a dunce,” Sora whispered after nearly a minute of silence.

Riku’s gaze hardened. “Don’t say that.”

His voice came out harsher than he had meant it to.

Sora hid his hands in the large red pocket in his shirt, looking at the floor. “I let Xehanort trick me.”

“What?” Riku looked at Sora. “You mean, in the dreams? You were being manipulated, Sora. There was no way you could know.”

Sora shook his head. “I heard your voice. You said something about not chasing the dreams and then that younger Xehanort guy just kept taunting me and telling me to be careful and I-” Sora growled, shoulders hunching. “I should’ve realized it was a trap.”

Riku opened his mouth but Sora interrupted.

“If you and the King and Axel hadn’t saved me, I would’ve been another vessel.” Riku saw a tear form at the edge of Sora’s clenched eyes. “They would’ve made me fight you all and I could’ve killed…”

“But you didn’t,” Riku said quietly.

Sora shook his head, opening his eyes. “But don’t you see? I _could_ have. And it cost me my power so I couldn’t help wake Ven up sooner or help with Aqua before or Roxas or Xion. Everyone else was able to learn the power of waking faster and I wasn’t. And that first time, at the graveyard, I just...lost it… You stayed strong and I...I couldn’t.” Sora’s voice broke. “I’m not a hero, Riku. I’m not…Without you all…”

_ “All my strength came from them…They gave me all of it...Alone, I’m worthless.” _

Sora trailed off, looking away again.  “I’m sorry…” Sora whispered.

Riku realized his mouth was open in shock, staring at Sora. He knew his friend carried doubt; he had seen it in that battle, that despair lingering on the surface of Sora. He had thought that those feelings had arisen during the keyblade war, triggered by the horrible deaths of their friends.

_ “You don’t believe that.”  _ It was the last thing Riku had said to Sora before facing the demon hoard on his own. Riku’s last thought before he had perished during their first attempt at beating Xehanort had been to snap Sora out of that moment, to remind him that he could do this. But it seemed those feelings, that moment of surrender, stemmed from something Sora had been carrying for years.

Riku looked at the scars that marred Sora’s arms, a testament to what he had survived, the battles he had won despite all odds. 

“You’re not worthless,” Riku said firmly. “You’re one of the strongest people I know.”

Sora didn’t respond, but he glanced at Riku with uncertainty.

“You didn’t give up on me when I tried to hurt you. You’ve saved my life more times than I can count. You sacrificed yourself for Kairi- twice.” Riku shook his head. “I mean, hell, you held Roxas, Xion, and Ven in your heart all at once! You not only save people from the heartless, but you become their friends.”

Riku smiled at Sora. “If that isn’t a hero a light, I don’t know what is?”

Sora bit his lip as his gaze got misty and he sniffled. A tear ran down his cheek.

“It’s okay that you got scared,” Riku continued, this time in a softer tone. 

He looked up at the sky, remembering the sky getting dark as the demon hoard blocked out the sun, at the screams of surprise and pain as his friends were killed, that heavy feeling in his bones when he realized it was just him and Sora. He had wanted to break down as well, to yell and curse, but Sora had needed him. And he had to keep faith that they’d return, but if he was honest, the events of that lost battle haunted him.

“I was scared too,” Riku admitted. 

“Y-yeah?” Sora asked. His eyes were rimmed with red and a thin line of tears streaked his cheeks.

“Terrified.” Riku said with a weak smile. “But I knew there had to be a way to fix it. And I was right. You saved us all.”

Sora smiled faintly. “Kairi was the one who saved me.”

Riku shrugged, “Yeah. And you saved us. Teamwork.”

Sora chuckled, though it sounded watery. “Teamwork,” he repeated. 

“You once said your friends were your power when we fought once, remember?”

Sora nodded.

“So don’t be scared to be afraid or honest with us. We’ll help you through it. Just don’t forget that you’re our power too,” Riku said. He placed a comforting hand on Sora’s shoulder. “'Kay?”

Sora turned away to wipe his arm against his eyes, before giving Riku a grateful smile. “Thanks, Riku.”

The door opened behind them. 

“I was looking for you two.”

Riku and Sora shifted to see Kairi standing behind them, hands behind her back with a smile. But when she saw Sora’s tear-streaked face, her eyebrows furrowed in worry.

“Are you okay?”

Kairi wrapped her arms around Sora’s shoulders from behind. The hand that ended up close to Riku reached for his fingers as she gave him a concerned look. Riku reached over and gave Kairi’s hand a reassuring squeeze as Sora leaned back into her embrace, eyes closed peacefully. He wiped at his eyes one more time before giving both Riku and Kairi a smile.

“Yeah,” Riku said, answering for him. “I think it’ll be okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my fic! I love comments and kudos <3 and feel free to follow my tumblr: Nana-princess for more art.


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